Loving You: Het Edition
by Swift178
Summary: A collection of oneshots and drabbles featuring most, if not all, boyxgirl Sonic pairings. No requests taken. No flames accepted.
1. SonicxAmy: Mourning

Disclaimer: Sonic and Amy belong to SEGA. Johnny Lightfoot and Tekno the Canary belong to Fleetway, I believe.

_**Mourning**_

The air should have been sweet, with the smell of Christmas drawing ever closer, giving everyone a sense of optimism and happiness.

He should have been rolling around in the snow making snow angels, throwing snowballs at his friends, building snowmen with smiling faces, bright beady black eyes and the typical carrot nose.

He should have been returning home to a warm fire, relishing the comfort of the people he cared for, eating turkey and singing songs.

But the ultimate truth was that he couldn't.

Not when one of their number had been gone for so short a time. Not when somebody had died so tragically, and when he and his friends were still in a period of mourning, even after all this time.

If he were to be brutally honest, he had not imagined that the mourning would have gone on this long, and yet it did. He evidently was still present in that state of mourning.

He knelt before the gravestone, gently wiping some of the snow away from the engraved name, blinking back the tears from his emerald eyes. Sighing deeply, he sat back and just gazed at it, becoming lost in his own thoughts. He knew he could have prevented this from happening, for he was a hero who could do anything. To the average Mobian, he was Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius, known for leading the Freedom Fighters against the evil Dr. Robotnik. To his friends, he was not only that, but cocky and downright rude. If he had perhaps not let himself get in over his head, their friend would still be alive.

Maybe if he sat there long enough, all of his sins would be forgiven, because he wouldn't have charged off in search of his next adventure, big-headedly assuming he would defeat anything without causing harm to anyone. He didn't want to cause harm to anybody else.

"Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog jumped at the sudden noise which penetrated the silence before, turning quickly to see a young pink hedgehog with soft brown eyes dressed in a lilac t-shirt and jeans, holding roses in her arms.

"Sonic, are you okay?"

The cerulean hero realized he had tears brewing in his eyes, so in a hurry brushed them away, forcing a cheerful grin on his face despite feeling anything but happy, "Yeah, Amy. Just fine."

Amy gave him a disbelieving look, but said nothing about it, choosing to approach the gravestone slowly and nervously, glancing at Sonic the whole time to see if he was fine with the invasion of his privacy. Coming to a halt before the stone, she bent down, placing the roses gently on the soft snow in front of the memorial. Leaning back, she paused slightly, sighing.

"Amy?"

The pink hedgehog turned her gaze back towards the blue hedgehog, who seemed to look awfully uncomfortable all of a sudden, "Do you think it's _my_ fault?"

Amy blinked, "What are you talking about, Sonic?"

"They don't need to say it, Amy," the blue hedgehog began again, causing Amy to look confused at the dramatic change of subject, "I know what they're thinking. They think I did it."

"Did _what?_"

Sonic's gaze turned towards the gravestone suddenly, causing Amy to gasp in shock, shake her head ferociously, and approach Sonic all at once, "No. Don't ever think that."

Sonic's gaze averted from hers quickly, choosing to gaze at his feet instead, "I'm a selfish, rude, big-headed jerk, and _that's _why… that's why he's dead."

"That's not it at all, Sonic," Amy said fiercely, "It was Chaos' fault, and don't you forget that."

"I could have stopped Chaos from killing him," Sonic exclaimed stubbornly, clenching his fists, feeling angry at himself, and feeling angry at her for not understanding, "I could have saved him."

"You tried, Sonic," Amy said softly, allowing her hand to gently touch Sonic's shoulder, "You tried, and that counts for everything. Nobody thinks it was your fault."

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Do _you _think it's my fault, Amy?" Sonic urgently repeated, glancing at her face now, intent for answers.

Once upon a time he would have refrained from asking such a silly question – after all, he was the hero and he was at fault for very little. But _this_… this had seen a drastic change in him. Amy shook her head softly, "No, I don't."

A short silence followed, before Sonic touched upon what he considered uncomfortable territory, "You loved him, didn't you?"

Amy tensed a little, looking a little saddened, almost as if she had been hoping beyond hope that this subject would not be mentioned. Finally, after a short silence, she mumbled in a small voice, "I think I did."

"Oh."

He didn't really know what to feel. The prospect of Amy being in love with somebody else had not originally been of much bother to him. When he had first met her, she had been drafted into the Freedom Fighters because she had been spreading rumours of being his girlfriend, putting her life at risk at the hands of Dr. Robotnik. She had been an annoyance, consistently lying about their relationship to other Mobians and seeking attention. Things had changed however; she had become a mature young woman looking for love, and had gone elsewhere to find it, knowing she likely would struggle to find it within him as he was just so… carefree and non-committing.

Now, though, the knowledge of Amy loving somebody else hurt for reasons Sonic didn't think he would ever be able to explain.

Sonic was broken out of his thoughts but Amy's hand gently reaching underneath his chin, "But he'd want me to be happy and move on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," Amy began, unsure of how to word what she wanted to say, "that the same would apply to you. He wouldn't want you to mope. That's not like you at all. He'd want you to be happy, and carry on with the Freedom Fighters, take down Robotnik and live in a Mobius free from his evil."

Sonic smiled slightly, "Even if it means me being a rude and cocky idiot?"

"_Especially _if that's what it means. We wouldn't have you any other way."

"Thanks Amy," Sonic grinned at her, and for the first time ever, found himself pulling her into a hug, "You're a lot smarter than I thought."

Amy grinned, ignoring the temptation to give the other hedgehog a sharp elbow in the ribs for his remark, "Shall we go and find the others?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Sonic nodded, extending his hand towards the pink hedgehog in an act of politeness, "Gotta talk to Tekno about something anyway."

The two glanced down upon the headstone, allowing the lingering silence to consume them briefly as they gazed at it, thinking of him and his bravery.

_Here lies Johnny Lightfoot  
__Died 31-08-2002_

Linking arms, Amy and Sonic whispered their goodbyes to their lost friend before they began to find their way back to their friends, knowing that, wherever he was, he would be proud of them.

Everything would be okay. It just needed time.

* * *

_Reposting all of my old one-shots in three different collections, so that people who dislike yaoi and yuri will not have to traipse through several one-shots devoted to a yaoi or yuri pairing._

To make things clearer, this is a Sonic/Amy, but set in the Fleetway universe which is rarely used. In the Fleetway comics, Amy is a lot more mature as a character, while Sonic is more arrogant. Amy had brown eyes in the Fleetway comics, which were only sold in the UK to my knowledge, and doesn't sell anymore these days. 


	2. KnucklesxAmy: Emerald Green

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me they belong to SEGA.

**Emerald Green**

I sit there in front of the Master Emerald, my feet dragging across the floor. I lay on my back, stretching out my arms and placing them behind my head. A small breeze passed my face and I breathed in. A small smile crossed my lips. Its days like this where you can't help but to smile.

But days like these don't always last. Something always goes wrong. Somewhere down the line, something messes up. And something was going wrong. It hit me in an instant. A ship was hovering overhead. I sat up, getting ready to jump into my fighting stance.

"Who are you?" I gasped as a shadow whipped past the trees and shrine, "What the-?"

The side of my face was struck suddenly and I fell to the floor, the other side of my face hitting the cold, hard concrete. I winced, trying to get up. I felt so weak and cold, I didn't know what had come over me.

The shadow was directly standing over me. I stole a look and gasped, "It can't be!"

The shadow said nothing, before moving over to place a hand on the Master Emerald. I writhed on the ground, struggling to get up, "You… you… leave it alone!" I screeched.

At that point I heard a dark, deep robotic voice, "I'm afraid not."

The shadow approached me again, raising its fist to me. Thunder began to clash and I caught sight of the size of the fist. They were very large. They were bigger than my own fists.

I felt a cold, hard slamming in my face and I blacked out.

**

* * *

**

I felt so cold it was almost hard to explain. I felt like I was swimming under ice, drowning. I tried to scream, writhing about in the water, trying to call for help and curse but only bubbles left my mouth. I needed help… I needed somebody to help me…

"Do you think he'll be okay?" a voice echoed. I stopped writhing to hear what they were saying about me.

"No telling Ames, he took a big hit," said another voice, male this time.

"But what could that thing have wanted with the Master Emerald?" the first female voice pondered.

"Who knows Amy, who knows, I just hope Sonic gets back soon…"

"Me too…"

I could feel something stroking my hand. It felt nice and sent tingling sensations through my body. But then it struck me that I couldn't be here, not in this cold watery place. At that point, the female echoing voice whispered, "Wake up Knuckles… please…"

* * *

I managed to open my eyes weakly and the vision of a female pink hedgehog with lovely jade green eyes came into view. Behind her was a light orange two-tailed fox, tapping some words into a computer. 

"Knuckles! You're awake!" the pink hedgehog yelled, looking like she was going to throw her arms around me. But she held back, probably thinking better of it. For some reason, I felt disappointed.

The fox turned around with a smile on his young face, "Thank God, we thought we'd lost ya there!"

I looked between Amy Rose and Tails, and they both looked somewhat awkward. I tried to sit up and managed after a while, "What happened…?"

Tails rubbed behind his ear nervously, "Er… we don't really know. We know that whatever it was wanted the Master Emerald and…"

"The Master Emerald!" I yelled, remembering the events before I was knocked out, "What happened? Is it safe?"

Tails and Amy paused. After a while, Tails shook his head, "Whatever it was obviously got it before we could get there to stop it…"

"It was a robot," I vaguely recalled, "It was definitely a robot."

"Sounds like Eggman's involved again," Tails sighed, "I'll be back in a moment, I got to find something."

Tails left the room, leaving Knuckles and Amy alone together. The two looked at each other. Knuckles was silent, guilty in that he had failed to protect the Master Emerald.

"It's okay…" Amy murmured, stroking my hand reassuringly.

"No… I failed… I failed to protect the Master Emerald. I'm not worthy to be its guardian."

"What? Of course you are! Who else knows more about it than you?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm not worthy. How many times have I nearly lost it to Eggman or some other bad guy? How many times has it been smashed because I was too careless?"

"Listen," she gripped my hand hard now to get me to listen to her, "You're the best person to guard it. Forget those times. Remember that you always got it back, no matter what. Remember that nobody could guard something so precious like you do."

I let her words sink in, "I know… but a part of me feels like… there's something more important out there for me to protect…"

Amy said nothing for at that point, Tails entered the room, accompanied by a blue hedgehog. I gritted my teeth ready for Sonic to make a childish remark at me but he was cut off by Amy rushing over to him.

Amy hugged Sonic round the middle, while the blue hedgehog tried to pry her off, "Amy, get a grip, please…" he grunted, trying to push her off, "I can't breathe…"

True, the blue hedgehog was turning bluer than usual. I chuckled at Amy's motions and what Sonic looked like. Amy eventually let go, giggling, "Oh you!" she playfully slapped him.

"Oh me…" Sonic said under his breath in a dark way. He saw me and walked over, "Hey Knuckles took a fall?"

I bared my teeth and stuck out my tongue, "Yeah so?"

"Nothing," Sonic answered coyly, a dirty smirk on his normally handsome features.

Amy glared at him, "Be nice Sonic!"

Sonic shrugged, "Whatever you say."

I silently thanked Amy for sticking up for me. She winked at me and she knew that I had thanked her somehow. I winked back, though something felt out of place. I couldn't expect anyone to understand, I barely understood it myself.

"So what do we do? Go to Eggman's base?" Tails inquired.

"What else? We have to try and get the Master Emerald back," Sonic replied.

"So shall we go?" I asked.

Sonic and Tails looked over to me, "I don't think it's a good idea Knuckles… you're still pretty badly hurt."

"I can handle it," I growled before Sonic could make a wisecrack. Amy looked at me in concern, her lovely eyes filling up, "Are you sure? You could get hurt?"

"I'll be okay, Amy," I reassured her. The girl nodded, trusting me. Just as Sonic, Tails and I were about to leave, I heard Amy again.

"I'm coming too!"

Tails and I turned around and stared at her gob-smacked while Sonic merely glared at her, "You can't it's too dangerous, you'd only get in the way!"

Amy glared back at him, her eyes narrowed, "I won't get in the way Sonic! What makes you think I will?"

Sonic and Amy looked like they had entered a glaring contest, "Because somewhere along the line you always get captured! And I'm always the one having to save you!"

I heard my knuckles crack, and I glared at Sonic. How could he be such a jerk? She only wants to help. I partly agree with Sonic on the level that Amy gets captured a fair bit, but that doesn't give him the right to stop her from helping. Amy had gotten stronger since we met her, and I felt sure she could handle herself.

"Sonic, let's let her come."

Sonic looked at me in shock, hardly believing that those words had left my mouth. I knew that Amy wasn't the best person to get on with sometimes, but she had feelings and if she wanted to help, why stop her? Sonic said nothing to my request, as Tails had silently agreed with me and it was obvious that he had in the air. The blue hedgehog pursed his lips together and nodded, before walking out of the room without a word.

Amy and Tails both exchanged glances with me before Tails followed Sonic, spinning his tails to catch up. Amy looked at me again, "Thanks for sticking up for me; Sonic is such a brat sometimes."

I merely nodded at her request, "Yeah… no problem…"

She smiled at me one last time before following Tails out of the room. I got to my feet, my head feeling woozy and my chest melted. I never knew why but since meeting Amy Rose the Hedgehog I have felt rather strangely around her, different from the others. She stood out to me as a caring person, kind, sweet, and gentle to all living beings. Sonic may see her as this ultra annoying brat who has a fan girl crush but he needs to look again if he really thinks that.

I eventually managed to get to my feet and follow Amy out of the door, my thoughts stuck on her the whole time.

* * *

"Eggman's base is up ahead," Tails muttered whilst sitting in the cockpit of the Tornado 2, Amy sitting behind him, whereas Sonic and I rode on the wings. Sonic had hardly said anything since we left. I assumed he was still sulking about having Amy come along with us. Amy was right; Sonic could be a brat at times. 

"How did you find it so quickly?" Amy asked in awe. Tails merely smiled as he pointed to the radar, "It's picking up the Master Emerald's energy waves."

I gazed ahead to some kind of broken down factory. My mind was wondering why the emerald would be here. But I was mainly focused on getting it safely back to Angel Island, so we could both live in the peace and tranquillity once again. Somehow though, that idea didn't appeal to me as it had done previously.

Eventually, Tails gracefully landed the Tornado 2 nearby, jumped out and we took in our surroundings. The factory was run down badly, so it was a constant question that played in my mind of why Eggman would be here. But Eggman normally hid anywhere, so it never mattered.

The four of us crept inside, trying to maintain a low profile. The Master Emerald's power was resonating with me, and I longed to search for it and give whoever took it a piece of my mind. Tails suggested we split up to search for it. Sonic sped off without a word to scour the building whereas Tails transformed the Tornado 2 into the Cyclone and took off in that. Amy and I were alone.

"You go," Amy said in a depressed voice, "They always leave me behind. They say I slow them down, and I don't wanna slow you down so… go without me."

I felt for her. Sonic and Tails probably don't realize how bad they treat her. She's supposed to be their friend. Well, it was Sonic who was the worse of the two. So Amy happened to like Sonic? That gave him no excuse to treat her like rubbish from a garbage can. I almost feel like punching him some days.

"No, you come with me; it's not safe for you to be here alone."

It never occurred to me that she might have taken that comment into offence, because she raised her voice, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes, "That's what they all think! That I can't take care of myself! If they actually took time out, they could see that I can handle myself just fine!"

I didn't know what to think about that, "S-Sorry Amy…"

I found myself pulling her into a hug. It felt strangely nice, to have Amy's warm body next to mine. She cried onto my shoulder, staining the red fur I have there.

"No I'm sorry…" she sobbed, "I know you're only looking out for me, but it sometimes feels like everyone thinks I'm weak…"

I never thought that. In all the time I had known her, I knew she was no weakling. She could handle herself just fine. I remembered when I first laid eyes on Amy Rose. It was a few years ago…

**

* * *

**

_I eagerly entered the tournament room, slamming my fists together. I hadn't agreed to this at first but now I'm really excited to get out there and prove my strength. Sonic and Tails had gotten into contact and said there was trouble. They had convinced me to enter the fighting tournament Eggman had set up. I had gone out there, and beaten Tails, though Tails happened to be a bit wary of my strength and I didn't want to hurt the little guy. Sonic was the match after my next one. I was facing someone named Amy Rose. _

"_A girl," I muttered to myself, "This is gonna be easy!"_

_I had gone outside and come face to face with a pink hedgehog girl, no older than ten. Her fur was a blatant pink, with her quills standing proudly upwards, in Sonic's style. She wore a dark green baggy t-shirt and a frilly orange skirt which made me wrinkle my nose. I noticed her eyes were of a beautiful green colour, the colour that matched the emerald I guarded. I smirked and told her I would go easy on her. The girl smirked back, telling me that's where I'd be making my mistake._

_As the bell rung indicating the beginning of the match, a large hammer appeared in her hand out of nowhere. I gasped as I realized the hammer could flatten me if I wasn't careful. We lunged at each other and a massive fight broke out. I was the victor, but only narrowly. I had taken a great deal of damage and it was going to be a tough fight in the next round._

_Due to Amy weakening him, I lost to Sonic in the next round, something that I hated bitterly, but also admired Amy for since then._

**

* * *

**

Amy stopped crying after a while and we both set off to find the Master Emerald. Amy remained by my side, her hammer hanging out of her hands. I stole a glance at her. She had changed in those last years. She was a little taller, with a red dress on, with matching boots and hair band. Her quills hung around her head and face, almost like human hair. But she still had pink fur and eyes similar to the Master Emerald's colour.

We wandered on, but I ended up stopping at hearing a machine-like sound. I paused, and Amy stared at me in worry, "What's wrong Knuckles?" she asked me.

I said nothing, continuing to gaze around and as I did, a high pitch scream came from behind me. I swivelled round fast as bright lights burned my eyes. Eggman sat in his Egg Walker, the Master Emerald behind him. I saw no sign of Amy until my eyes fell on her, trapped in the grasp of a robotic echidna. It has bits of red and grey in it and resembled me a lot.

"Aha, I knew you and the rest of your little friends would come snooping around," Eggman sneered. I glared at him.

"LET HER GO!" I yelled, gesturing towards Amy, whose arms were beginning to bleed due to the strong grip the metal echidna had on her.

"I don't think so…" Eggman said, with a hint of nastiness in his voice, "May I introduce you to Metal Knuckles?"

I glanced at the red and grey echidna, hate for the mad scientist pumping through my blood. It was then that an image returned to me.

"You… you're the one who took the Master Emerald!" I yelled, pointing at the echidna. Eggman grinned evilly, "Ah yes, he was more than a match for you, after all, I designed him to be that way."

"OH YEAH!" I yelled, rage pulsing through me harder than ever before. I wanted to wipe that smug smirk off of his face but then I remembered Amy. The anger was quickly replaced by fear as I realized how scared Amy was.

"Let's have a little challenge shall we? If you can beat Metal Knuckles, you can walk away with both the emerald and the girl, but if not… you'll have to choose… and I'm sure you wouldn't want your little friend to die because of a mere jewel."

I growled, my teeth grinding together harder than ever, "Bring it on!" I found myself yelling.

Metal Knuckles released Amy from his harsh grip and charged at me, pouring on loads of speed. I gasped in awe as I realized that this speed matched Sonic's, "What the?"

Metal Knuckles tackled me to the floor, beginning to fire speedy, powerful punches to my face. I could feel my face swelling under the fresh bruises he had planted there but I couldn't give up. I tried to swing a punch back but Metal Knuckles caught it with ease, throwing the fist aside and punching me again, once kicking me in the stomach and removing air from within me. I couldn't stand anymore. Metal Knuckles got off of me and walked back to his master. I got to my knees but found it difficult getting to my feet. I glared at Eggman through one eye, as the other one had swelled, causing me to be unable to see through it.

"Well then Knucklehead, what's it to be? The emerald or the girl?"

I realized that I was in a tough spot. Sonic or Tails weren't here at this moment, and Amy's life was being threatened. I had to do something. If I chose the Master Emerald, Eggman would command Metal Knuckles to kill Amy, then probably me too, so he'd win either way. If I chose Amy, we could walk away free, but Eggman would use the emerald in his evil plans for world domination.

I suddenly leaned up a little further, wanting ever more to kill that mad psychopath, who was grinning psychotically. I had a plan. He couldn't have neither. I got to my feet, ignoring the aching pains as I remembered what I had told Amy.

"_I know… but a part of me feels like… there's something more important out there for me to protect…"_

I knew it now. I leapt into the air as high as I could, gliding towards the Master Emerald, Eggman yelled to Metal Knuckles, "STOP HIM!"

I was ready this time. Metal Knuckles charged at me with top speed, and I countered it with a blow to the stomach, where he had a weird marking. I never expected the robotic echidna to blow up, but it did. I made my way to the emerald, raised a fist, and slammed it into the emerald as far as it would go. The Master Emerald shattered into a million tiny pieces. It was beyond repair now.

"WHAT! NO!" Eggman screamed; spit foaming and covering his moustache.

"I've made my decision, Egghead," I told him in a low voice, "Now how about you? You can either leave or I can kill you right here and now, it's up to you."

Eggman saw I was serious and took off in his mobile, cursing me. Amy ran up to me and enclosed me in a hug, tears pouring out of her eyes, "You saved me!" she sobbed, "But… what about the Master Emerald?"

"It's beyond repair now, but I don't need to worry, I've found something more important now…"

I gazed into those lovely green eyes, stroking aside her bangs to get a proper look into her eyes. They shone, sparkled with tears, clearly full of emotion.

"Amy, I think you're the one thing I really care about now, and I have cared about you since I first met," I knew the next words I was going to say would be the hardest ones ever, "I love you, Amy Rose."

She was clearly filled to the brim with emotion. My heart filled with fear as I prepared for rejection. After all, she loved Sonic. Why else would she pursue him all the time?

"I love you too, Knuckles," she murmured shyly. I admit I was taken aback at this, I had expected to her say she was moved, but she loved Sonic. She saw this confusion and added, "I never really loved Sonic. Well, I thought I did, but he's such a brat towards me and… ever since I laid eyes on you I loved you, but I continued to pursue Sonic because I thought you weren't interested…"

"Well… it took me a long time to figure it out, but… it's always been you."

With that, we both leaned in and our lips met in our first ever kiss. Amy's mouth on mine felt utterly amazing, like we were in our own world were there was no Eggman, only peace and serenity and each other. Only a mild tease made me break off from the kiss with the pink hedgehog.

"Ooh, lover boy!" I glared at Sonic, who had a cheeky grin on his face. To be honest, he looked thrilled that Amy didn't really love him at all.

"Shut it blue boy," I growled.

Sonic chucked a little at my response, and I cracked my knuckles threateningly. Sonic saw this, gave an apologetic grin and sped off at the speed of sound.

"Now where were we?" Amy asked shyly.

"I remember," I told her, leaning in to kiss the girl of my dreams once more.

* * *

_I wanted to read through all of my old one-shots again and repost them all, and I decided to post them in a drabble/one-shot collection, which has been editted and split so that those who do not like yaoi/yuri/het can go to the edition that appeals to them and ignore the rest._


	3. ShadowxTikal: Two Souls

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They belong to SEGA.

**Two Souls**

It was a cloudy, depressing day on Mobius and everything seemed so dull and dreary that the streets and parks were almost empty, if they already weren't empty. Rain had been pouring heavily overnight and a few roads downtown had flooded. Mobians kept to their houses, waiting for it to blow over and for the sun to return. Not even the famous Sonic the Hedgehog was running up and down the streets and country, due to the flooding and his fear of water. Only one person was out on a day like this.

A black hedgehog, fairly tall now in the months that had passed since Molly's death. He had red stripes on his quills, arms and legs and blood red eyes that, upon first glance, would probably intimidate people. Mobians that had briefly entered the streets saw a black hedgehog, looking like a lost child, settled in a tree, gazing into space.

Shadow the Hedgehog leaned back in the tree and glanced below him at a flooded road. To be honest, he hated water as much as Sonic but it gave him no unease to be here. He gazed at the few Mobians passing by and gave them a cold glare, causing them to scurry along.

They didn't know. None of them did. Shadow doubted that those Mobians knew what it felt like to lose someone he cared about. Molly was his friend and she died for him. It made him feel sick to think that his friends always seemed to get hurt for him. Maria, fifty years ago, took the bullet that was meant for Shadow and died whilst sending him to Earth. And Molly… she died at the Meterex's hands for him. He couldn't stand how those he cared about nearly always ended up dying.

He got to his feet and took off at high speed, deciding to visit Molly's memorial. In less than a minute he was standing at the wonky cross he and Rouge had set into the ground. He settled at the foot at it, thinking of his friend. He stayed there for hours.

**

* * *

**

Angel Island wasn't looking its best today. There were muddy puddles everywhere that were about a foot deep and water was forever dripping from the trees. Still, the Master Emerald stood proudly on top of the crumbling ancient alter. The guardian, a red echidna with deep purple eyes had sat in front of it the whole morning, watching for thieves before taking off to find fruit for his breakfast.

Whilst he was gone, the emerald emitted a bigger glow and two figures appeared out of it. The first one, a strange creature with emerald eyes, transparent skin of a sky blue colour, and a pink brain seen floating inside. The second figure was an echidna, female with creamy orange fur, aqua blue eyes and white bands wrapped around each of her dreadlocks. She wore a creamy white top with a green and yellow skirt. She walked to the edge of the alter with the liquid life form and turned to him.

"I need some time alone, Chaos… can you manage here…?"

The creature nodded at the echidna's request, turning back to the Master Emerald and was engulfed by a blinding white light before disappearing. The echidna looked ahead, before taking off into the undergrowth. There was a cliff nearby that she could always go to whenever she felt like she needed time alone.

It played in her mind all the time, the death of her family. She remembered how she'd begged and pleaded with her father to control his greed but he didn't listen. To all the other echidnas, she had been considered a trouble maker and they believed that one day she would receive the ultimate punishment. But that had gone awry and the other echidnas were punished for their greed and wanting of the Chaos Emeralds.

Tikal the Echidna made sure not to let the Master Emerald's current guardian spot her and she caught sight of him moving back towards the alter, his arms filled with a decent amount of fruit. She sighed with relief and made her way to the edge of the island, before jumping off and gliding to the bottom.

**

* * *

**

Finally, her personal spot where she spent time by herself was up ahead. It was a cliff, sandy and somewhat heart-warming. Tikal was always positive that it would be uninhabited and it always was. She made her way through bushes and trees, pushing stray twigs away from her face. Finally she found her special cliff. But it wasn't uninhabited.

A black hedgehog with red stripes on his quills was kneeling over a wonky silver cross which stuck out of the ground. A single red rose sat at the black hedgehog's knees. Tikal blinked, not expecting her special place to become inhabited by somebody. She thought vaguely of leaving the hedgehog to whatever he was doing but she took note of the wonky cross. It was a memorial. This hedgehog had lost someone and was visiting her. It was a strange thing, visiting lost loved ones. It always feels strangely relaxing, as if you're still in their company. Tikal caught sight of the hedgehog, and began to note that he looked a little like a lost child, searching for guidance. Tikal eventually made up her mind and approached the hedgehog.

"Hello?" Tikal asked slowly and cautiously. The hedgehog's ears perked up at her voice and he turned to face her. Tikal found herself staring into cold, red eyes filled with fire and remorse. It startled her.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked in a fairly threatening tone, as if he wasn't hoping to be disturbed, "And what are you doing here?"

"Very nice…" Tikal whispered to herself, but she didn't allow herself to give up on him, "My name is Tikal… who are you?"

"Why do you want to know?" he said cautiously, choosing his words not very carefully. Tikal gave him a stare which made the black hedgehog's eyes widen and he gulped and eventually, he spluttered out, "Shadow."

Tikal smiled briefly, "Losing a loved one is always hard…" she said just above a whisper. Shadow had sharp hearing and heard every word.

"What do you mean by that?" he said, caught off guard. Tikal gave a weak smile and pointed towards the wonky cross that was Molly's memorial, "Who was it?"

"Is it any of your business?" Shadow said a little too cheekily, turning away from Tikal and facing the cross again. Tikal's eyebrows furrowed and she gave Shadow a short glare.

"I'm trying to help and all you give me are short, horrid remarks. I'm offering you someone to listen to you and you are turning me away. I am getting the impression that you think I can't feel your pain but I do know what it feels like!" Tikal found herself raising her voice and going red in the face, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Shadow was taken aback at this, for he thought no one could ever feel the emotional pain of losing someone you loved.

"I lost my father years and years ago… his greed overtook him and… he and most of the echidna tribe was wiped out by Perfect Chaos. I was unable to stop Perfect Chaos claiming their lives, but I was able to stop him from claiming others… I sealed my spirit into the Master Emerald to save others… but I still think of my father and I still love him regardless of what he's done."

Shadow listened to Tikal's whole story, and he bowed his head towards the cross, "I'm sorry to hear that."

The rose lay at Shadow's knees, thorns taken off and the cross standing proud, "She gave her life for me, like Maria did fifty years ago…"

Tikal blinked at this new wave of emotion coming from the black hedgehog. Shadow continued his story, unable to stop now, "50 years ago I was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik. His granddaughter was my only friend. She died to save me when a government organization came to claim me, believing me to be dangerous."

Tikal's hands shot to her face in shock, "I'm so sorry!"

Shadow glared at her, with a face to suggest he wasn't finished yet, "A few months ago, my friend gave her life for me… and I could do nothing," Shadow clenched his fists, shaking in the anger and knowledge that he was useless when the event played out.

"I'm sorry…" Tikal said in a low voice. Shadow glanced at the rose that lay before Molly's memorial, a frown settling on his face.

"Why though? You don't know me, no one does," Shadow challenged.

Tikal didn't really need to think about it, "Because we are all alive, and sometimes people just need someone to talk to, to get all the rage and other feelings off their chest," she responded.

Shadow looked up at Tikal for possibly the first time, and took in her features. She was about the same height as him, if a little smaller, with golden orange fur covering her body. Dreadlocks hung around her head like human hair, each with a white band wrapped around them. She wore clothes which weren't in the fashion for Mobian girls today, a creamy white top, a green checked skirt and white sandals. Her eyes were what took Shadow aback, a perfect sapphire blue that reminded him of the two friends he had loved and lost.

"Those eyes…" Shadow muttered vaguely, "They're like theirs… Maria… Molly…"

Tikal blushed, directing her eyes to her feet, not meeting Shadow's eyes, which were beginning to stare at her.

Shadow looked at Tikal, feeling something there, deep inside him. She had already proved to care for others, and she allowed him to talk to someone. And it helped. Something was beginning to bug Shadow.

_Why does she resemble them so much? And why do I feel like this, when I never felt like it for Maria or Molly?_

Shadow's blood red eyes found the floor, and he noticed Tikal was staring at the floor too. He blushed a little.

"I… Thank you, Tikal," Shadow muttered vaguely. Tikal smiled deeply at the black and red hedgehog, "No problem."

"No… this talk has opened my eyes. I'm not the only one in the world who has problems."

Shadow's red eyes met Tikal's cerulean ones and blushes settled on their faces. Tikal gazed behind her, remembering that she had to return to Angel Island soon. Her heart pounded as Shadow gazed at her, and she didn't want to return at all.

"I… I have to go back soon…" Tikal said nervously.

"If you must," Shadow said in a short, emotionless tone, but Tikal could tell he was disappointed. Tikal thought for a while, and a smile crossed her lips.

"But I think I'll stay a while," she responded, taking his hand. Shadow's face went a bright red colour when Tikal planted a kiss on his cheek, "After all, you helped me too."

A grin settled on Shadow's face for one of the few times in his life. Tikal could only grin at him, "You should smile more often, it suits you."

Something in Shadow told him to smile, partly because he wanted to and partly because it made the pretty girl next to him smile.

They waited, sitting on the cliff, talking until the rain finally stopped, and the sun appeared through the clouds. The sun began to set all too soon, and Tikal got to her feet.

"I really must go now, but I hope we meet again, Shadow."

Shadow was disappointed but smiled briefly, "I suppose I had better go too."

Tikal got to her knees again in front of Shadow, looked at him briefly and kissed him on the lips. Shadow was taken aback, but began to kiss back. The kiss didn't last for long but it felt like an eternity to Shadow and Tikal. They broke off; Tikal got to her feet and walked away, a smile on her face that never left her lips.

Shadow's gaze followed her, and he smiled too. He took one last glance at Molly's memorial and smiled, knowing that he could now be at peace, "Until next time, Tikal the Echidna."

* * *

_Another old one-shot I did, this time for Shadow/Tikal, which I think is a pretty unique and cool pairing._


	4. KnucklesxTikal: From my Dreams

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belongs to me, they belong to SEGA.

**From My Dreams**

It's an ordinary day on Angel Island. Quiet, peaceful and no Eggman to be found anywhere. It had been a while since that incident which caused Station Square to be flooded. People have been sticking their necks out trying to bring the city back the way it used to be, including Sonic, Tails and Amy.

I haven't heard from any of them since the incident with Perfect Chaos. After Perfect Chaos was defeated and he returned to the past, Sonic sped off straight away to help rebuild the city. Tails probably went to add some adjustments to his new plane and Amy… god knows. Probably out shopping or trying to get Sonic to go out with her. And that cat… haven't heard from him. After the incident he just blundered off with his little frog, towards the direction of the train that lead to Mystic Ruins.

Chaos is gone. Back to where he belongs, with no more anger. She went with him. I haven't seen her since they left together.

Everyday since Perfect Chaos, I have been on top of the altar, guarding the Master Emerald, no longer shattered. Days where I can just lay there, listen to the wind blow and have my privacy, used to appeal to me so badly. But they don't anymore. Something has been bugging me and something has been missing. I long to know what it is.

I see her in my dreams, every night when I go to sleep; she'll be there, with that warm smile and beautiful sapphire eyes. Sometimes it would just be her and I, alone together on Angel Island, overlooking the world below us. Or it would be that same nightmare of her father's greed.

I miss her. Crazy as it sounds, I, Knuckles the Echidna, miss her.

**

* * *

**

I wake on top of the altar, my eyes making out the towering form of the glowing Master Emerald before me. I got up, dusting myself off before placing a hand on the large jewel.

Could she really have spent over 1000 years in there?

I wander off to find my breakfast, my stomach growling, almost like it's chewing on its on insides. I leave the altar and the Master Emerald behind, walking through the forests for some decent fruit.

I spot a tree full of ripe apples and I spend a good deal of time trying to receive some. It's actually a lot harder than it looks. When my arms were full of apples, I began to head back to the altar slowly, as not to drop anything. I listen to the birds singing as my mind wanders back to the dream I had last night.

She was there, in the centre of the Chao Garden, right near the waterfall, stroking a pure white chao on the head. She smiled at me with that lovely gaze and just as everything was going along so well, everything disappeared and I awoke.

It was different from the other dreams. Something just kept nagging me about this one. I wonder what the hell it could mean.

I finally reach the altar, slowly dragging my food up the crumbling stairs, as I determinedly managed to reach the green emerald. And what I saw wasn't expected…

Right there, in front of the Master Emerald, was a note, held down by quite a big stone. I glance at it warily, gently putting down my food and lifting the stone to read what the note said.

'_Meet me in the Chao Garden at eleven.'_

That was all it said. I think about it. It sounds a lot like an Eggman trap to me, but something inside of me is telling me it isn't. My heart and head conflict. Should I go? Should I not? I begin eating a few apples while I think about it. It isn't long before eleven. I have to make up my mind. It's now or never.

I glance down at the note again and my eyes pause on two words, _'Chao Garden'_. Why would anyone want to meet me in the Chao Garden? I've only been there a few times, to check on everything and just to get away from everything. I wasn't even aware that Eggman knew the Chao Garden existed. After a lot more thought, I made up my mind.

I'll go.

I turned back toward the gleaming Master Emerald and smiled, placing one of my large hands on it, "I'll be back…" I whispered to it as I took off into the undergrowth.

I travelled through the forest until I reached the edge of Angel Island. I sucked in breath and jumped off, stretching out my arms and gliding to the bottom. I felt the air whip my dreadlocks, and it felt utterly amazing, almost like I could fly.

I gently landed in the Mystic Ruins, following the river. I pass a hut and spot that large purple cat fishing. So that's what he's been doing with his time. Oh well, I can't afford to talk to him now. I continue on, pushing stray twigs out of my eyes as I reached the cliff I was looking for. I grabbed the wooden ladder and began to climb, my arms almost blurs.

I reached the top and jumped in the cart, thinking about just who was at the Chao Garden. As the cart travelled slowly, I scanned the note which was clenched in my fist again.

'_Meet me in the Chao Garden at eleven.'_

I grow impatient and I release a huge sigh of relief when the damn cart finally got to the other side of the Mystic Ruins. I jump out and gave it a kick, "Should've walked," I grumpily stated to myself.

I continued on past the waterfall. I was nearly there. The teleportation device for the Chao Garden was just in the cave nearby. I continue on, my fists clenched, my mind filled with a thousand thoughts. My mind keeps travelling back to the dream of her. My mind starts wandering and I shake my head vigorously. No, it can't be her, she's gone!

I find the cart leading to the teleportation device, but having learned my lesson with the last one, I merely glared at the cart before walking past it. I'm nearly there…

I see the teleportation device. I hesitate, worries beginning to take over, "Should I even be here?" I asked myself. The Master Emerald was top priority; someone like Eggman could have stolen it by now! No. I have to find out who it is. Who wants me? I step onto the teleportation device, my mind made up.

My eyes open as the blinding light produced from the teleportation device disappeared. I took in the beauty of the Chao Garden. Several baby chao scooted about, some eating fruit from the trees, others playing with toys. Most of them looked the same, baby blue with big blue eyes, tiny pink wings and small yellow balls floating on their heads. There were some I didn't recognize though. There were various coloured ones. One was a royal blue colour, with actual quills, big green eyes and tiny wings which it took a lot of effort to notice. It didn't take much to tell that was a Sonic chao. Strange, it could only mean that this is Sonic's chao. Sonic never seemed the type to raise chao. Sure enough, there was a Tails chao and an Amy chao running around too, the Tails chao being golden with two tiny tails, big blue eyes and big fox ears and the Amy chao being pink with big green eyes, quills and hedgehog ears.

I'm confused. There's nobody here other than chao. I must've been tricked. I'll bet it was Eggman. Wait until I get my hands on him!

Suddenly, a pure white chao with big blue eyes, tiny blue wings and a blue halo floated over to me and grabbed my hand. I blinked in surprise at it gently guided me along. I didn't have a clue what was going on. Suddenly, the chao stopped and I looked up. I nearly fainted at what I saw.

There she was, stroking a pure white chao, a lovely smile on her face, her sapphire eyes filled with love. Her orange fur gleamed in the sun and my heart skips a beat as her eyes meet with mine. She gestures for me to sit down and I gulp, nodding.

She tells me everything. Her past, her family, Chaos and, the most important information, why she was here. It turned out her spirit often wandered the Chao Garden for peace and resolution, and to be with the chao. I can only listen, nodding in the right places. I'm so glad she's here.

One thing is for sure, I don't have to miss her anymore.

**

* * *

**

_Another old one-shot that was written for somebody else a long while ago. I admit that I am not a fan of the Knuckles/Tikal pairing, but with that being said, I don't dislike the pairing either._


	5. SonicxBlaze: My Sacrifice

Disclaimer: All of the characters used in this story do not belong to me. They belong to SEGA.

**My Sacrifice**

The light of the sun finally broke through the clouds, and the long winter seemed to be over at long last. Streaking across the landscape, I allowed a brief smile to spread across my face at the sight of it. I never really liked the days where the weather was cold and my skin numb. Jogging through the snow is no easy feat and I found myself grateful that I could now run across the landscape without risking slipping on ice.

It had been a year since the incident with Eggman-Nega, and I have changed a lot, but I'd be lying if I said that I was the only one. Cream reached the graceful age of seven last week, started taking lessons in dancing and found herself under the charm that shopping seems to place on girls such like Amy.

Amy's still crazily in love with me, but has seemed to find another way of going about trying to win me over, not that she knew I was aware of her scheme. Amy started going out with Shadow in attempt to make me jealous… or forced him, but as this was Amy, I render either option possible. Shadow agreed, but only because he considered Amy a good friend and because he liked to think he was getting one over on me.

I ran further, allowing the wind to glide through my quills. That sun was unusually bright today… I skidded to a halt and covered my eyes with my sweaty hands. When I looked up, I could hardly believe my eyes.**_  
_**  
I hadn't seen her in a year. I had hardly noticed at that moment that all the feelings that had disappeared before had rushed back in an instant. I had missed her at first. It affected me quite badly, considering I had felt closer to her than I had to any other girl. She was so silent, yet so determined; one could not help but to admire her and who she was.

I had no idea what it all meant. I had no idea why the pit of my stomach seemed to jolt with fear and excitement at the same time. I never really took the time to question it. I was only aware of the shock that had filled my gut.

The curled up form of Blaze the Cat lay crumpled on the grass, hugging her knees and whining in pain. My instincts naturally took over, and I instantly rushed to her side, leant down and checked her over. I don't think she noticed me, her eyes were tightly squeezed shut and her teeth clenched. It seemed like she was barely managing to breathe, and her hands were clenched into tight fists.

Words can't express how much it hurt me to see her in so much pain. My stomach wrenched painfully, and a lump jumped to my throat.

"Blaze? Blaze, it's me," I muttered quickly, almost blindly panicked. I couldn't allow myself to be overcome by emotion, not now and not ever, "It's Sonic."

My heart skipped a beat as the young cat opened her eyes and memories flashed through my mind in the instant that her piercing yellow orbs met my emerald ones. I remember laying eyes on her for the first time, while Cream babbled on about how she was a good person and that she was her new friend and how Blaze herself simply stood there, looking out of place in the world, like she didn't belong.

I recall how we faced off at Dead Line, how she stood there and accused me of getting in the way, her face contorted in pure fury, and told me not to get involved. But I couldn't do that, don't ask why, maybe it's something in my nature that goes against letting people suffer or working alone. She let slip something she shouldn't have done, it was then that the magic happened.

It's in my nature to be protective. When I guessed the rough past she had… I guess I wanted to protect her from all of that somehow. I wonder if that was why I had felt so attracted to her company, and why I seemed to worry now.

"Sonic?"

I snapped back into focus and gazed down at the young figure below me, looking at me with a weak smile. I took in her appearance; her fur was a light purple, and shimmered underneath the sun, but her fur seemed rather messed up. Feathers hung on her head, swaying with the wind, but were currently singed beyond belief. Where a red gemstone once rested on her head, lay nothing more than fur, soaked with fresh blood.

"I found you…" she whispered weakly, allowing one of her hands to lift and stroke my cheek before dropping back to the floor. I caught it and made sure it had a gentle landing and my stomach did another back flip.

"What happened to you…?" I asked curiously, moving her so that she rested almost peacefully in my arms, my breathing beginning to shallow slightly.

"I've been trying for ages to find a way back here…" Blaze muttered, every breath she took looked like it hurt her and I realized I was hanging onto her tighter than I should have so loosened my grip slightly, "I-I found a way when I saw a dimensional warp within my dreams… to access one, it took a lot of power but it was worth it…"

"But why?" I asked in an almost weak voice, my arms shaking like I was suffering with some sort of fever, sweat glided through my royal blue fur.

"I wanted to see you and Cream again…" Blaze smiled up at me looking tired, but content, "Especially you."

My imagination whizzed into motion as I constructed a scene where Blaze and I reunited again under the moonlight, clasped hands and strode along under the bright light, hand in hand. Soon I turned, and she turned, and we could only chuckle at each other's antics. Finally, I swallowed my nerves and brought her close to me and allowed our faces to move closer to each other, so close that our lips were about to touch…

"Sonic?"

I practically jumped on the spot, once again snapping back into focus and began paying attention to Blaze again, who looked at me with a smile that suggested she was happy regardless of how weak she was. I found myself thankful that my thoughts and daydreams were only accessible by myself, though I could not find a reason for why my face felt hot.

"Do you have a fever?" Blaze asked curiously, trying to sit up, but ended up falling back to the floor, wheezing painfully, clutching her chest with a strained expression on her face. I had no idea what to do, but I helped lay her down to the ground again.

"N-No… Do you want me to… um…?" I pointed at where Blaze was hurt, bowing my head and trying to force my face to cool down. Blaze shook her head, the feathers on her head swaying with the wind. I found that she looked quite pretty, and the lump in my throat intensified as I forced my eyes away from hers.

"There's no need. I'm a fast healer," she told me, smiling weakly, her hand once again finding mine and giving it a little squeeze, "Just take me to a place where I can rest and recover from my travel. Your place maybe?"

Another scene constructed in my mind, though I have no idea where it came from. It involved a lot of cuddling and kissing on both mine and Blaze's parts. The heat in my cheeks rose dramatically, and I found myself lost in the daydream, though I really shouldn't have been. Something within me relaxed and sighed, almost pleased by the scenes of my own construction.

Once again it was Blaze who broke me out of my daydream and I nearly jumped out of my fur, my face hotter than ever, and my breathing possibly even more shallow than what it was before, "Er… yeah, I'd take ya back to my place… if I _had _a place to go to…"

Blaze gawked at me, "You don't have a home to live in?"

Embarrassed, I shook my head, a feeling of shame rooted in my stomach and grew throughout the rest of my body, "I go where I want to go. I never saw the need for a house of my own. I kip at Tails' place sometimes but…"

"Well, you could always take me there," Blaze pointed out in a rather strange pleasant tone of voice.

"Tails might be busy…" I pondered, imagining the look on my best friend's face when I arrived carrying Blaze in bridal style. I wasn't fearful of Tails' reaction at all but a worry had planted itself in my mind regardless; _what if Amy was there?_

"He won't mind, surely," Blaze pressed on, gripping my arm and looking at me in a pleading manner. I found it hard to believe she was behaving in this sort of manner, puppy-dog eyes, smiles and mushy stuff were stuff you'd normally expect Amy Rose to do, not someone like Blaze, stiff and silent, almost like a statue of someone famous; someone younger people looked up to.

I gulped, trying to force the possibility of my self-proclaimed girlfriend out of my mind. If she saw me with Blaze, she'd flatten me before turning on Blaze and that thought doesn't make me feel very confident. The last time I had seen her, she had ended up yelling at some poor young girl just because she asked me shyly for an autograph. Needless to say, Amy thinks there's something going on between Blaze and me, and I'm not sure. I don't want to give her the satisfaction of proving her right, nor do I want to think of the consequences.

But I knew I couldn't leave Blaze out here, anything could happen to her, regardless of me being there or not. Praying I wouldn't regret it, I muttered, "Sure, I'll take ya to Tails' place."

At that, I gently scooped her up into my arms and rested her gently. Blaze closed her eyes and a sweet smile crossed her face, as she moved to get comfortable. My chest seemed to tighten and my stomach did a few forward flips as I took off at my usual speed, holding onto Blaze tightly.  
**_  
_**Tails' reaction to me bringing Blaze to rest at his place seemed pretty much as I expected it. His eyes widened, he asked a bunch of questions in shock and excitement and gabbled on a bit about dimensional warps, not that I understood half of it. Eventually I managed to get away and carry Blaze up to the spare room I often slept in when I needed somewhere to. Resting on the bed, I stroked her lilac fur, as she weakly grinned at me.

"I suppose you want to go back to your run?" Blaze questioned, her yellow eyes filled with an almost knowing look, and filled with what looked like… hope?

I shrugged; to be perfectly honest it didn't bother me, though I actually shocked myself in noticing I wanted to stay with her, "If you want me to stay…"

"Yes please…" Blaze mumbled, snuggling into my peach chest. My heart pounded faster and harder against my chest. I had no idea; I wondered vaguely if Blaze had fed me some kind of drugs before she left. I wondered if she had been taking drugs herself, strange as it sounds. She never would have behaved in this manner at all. The princess I knew was strong, independent, and never wavered once in her goals. She also was very well-known for having a sightless pride that only Cream and I ever saw, and only I ever really appreciated.

"Blaze, what's wrong with you? You're not like this…" I asked in an almost pleading tone, lowering myself enough to look into her eyes. Blaze blinked and smiled, knowing what I was talking about without needing to ask.

"You and Cream changed me," Blaze explained quietly, "Not everything about me, but a lot. I never used to believe in relying on others before I met Cream and you. I always told myself that nobody would care, that I had to work alone and that's the way it would always be. But you helped me see the other side. People do care."

I blinked, for I had had no idea that I could have caused such an impact on someone. Sure, loads of people seemed to develop an excited aura when they saw me, girls squealed and literally wet themselves when they were around me. Yet this… this somehow forced butterflies into my stomach.

"Why did you want to see me again?" I asked, remembering our earlier conversation. Blaze had said very clearly it was me especially she wanted to see.

"I guess you could say I've fallen for you…" Blaze muttered in an embarrassed tone, snuggling ever tighter into my chest to hide her tomato red face. My chest tightened again, my breathing became shallow. Oh man… I'm no good in the mushy category. I had no idea on what to say to her at all. I could always say that… maybe I _think_ I'm falling for her too. But this is only the second time we've met and we still need to learn a lot more about each other.

Thankfully I never needed to say anything. I darted my eyes back down to her, still working on some kind of speech in my head, and saw that she was sound asleep. Gently pulling her off of me, and settling her, I went off downstairs, softly smiling at her as I left the room.

"Sonic!"

Tails bombarded me as soon as I left the room, his eyes wide and full of curiosity, asking me if Blaze was okay. I sighed in an almost blissful manner, placing a hand on my chest and nodded, almost wishing my heart rate would slow down to its normal speed. I found myself not caring that much when it didn't, and continued to think about what Blaze had just said to me.

"_I guess you could say I've fallen for you…" _

I felt like my heart was going to either explode or bounce straight out of my chest. I kept thinking about those words… sure, I'd heard all about the whole 'falling in love' stuff before or mushy stuff as I like to call it. Amy keeps insisting day after day that she loves me so much that she would do anything for me. I never really explored it that much to be honest; I wasn't really interested. Love and other mush, from what I could see, would interfere with the freedom I love so much. But now my heart yearned to actually look into it. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought it would be…

My mind went into action again, constructing another scene. Seeing me with Blaze in any way would send Amy on the warpath… but this daydream filled me with hope. I had kissed Blaze, long and hard, before seeking out Amy's face from the crowd. And she didn't seem angry; she had smiled at me and gave us her blessing, while standing hand in hand with Shadow. I knew in real life it couldn't happen like that. Time for a reality check; Amy would flip out, not bother about Shadow and beat me with that hammer of hers… I shuddered at the thought. I certainly didn't want that to happen. I didn't want Blaze to receive any 'punishment' for what we feel, and I don't want to lose Amy as a friend.

Maybe I could try it though. I could sacrifice a bit of my freedom for Blaze…

"Sonic!"

I jumped out of my fur, finding Tails waving his hand in front of my face with an almost irritated look on his face. He had his hands on his hips, curled into fists. He didn't look angry, but slightly annoyed that I had zoned out on him, "Do you have any idea on how she got here?"

"Blaze told you she used a dimensional warp," I told him, feeling a little irritated myself now. It had been such a good daydream…

"I know that," Tails said impatiently, "But I'm wondering how she may have accessed one. Even though I haven't much knowledge on them, I know enough to say that a trail is left behind. Anyone could follow that trail and get into this world!"

"So…" I mumbled, a little confused, "What does that mean exactly?"

"Use your head Sonic!" Tails waved his arms around in frustration, "Eggman-Nega could have followed Blaze here for all we know! And we know what he's capable of!"

I shrugged, "No big deal. I can handle him. All I care about now is making sure that Blaze gets better."

"You like her don't you?" Tails asked me in a curious tone.

"Of course I like her!" I bit back the urge to tell Tails it was none of his business, "She's my friend isn't she?"

"You know what I mean!" Tails responded, looking fairly agitated.

Damn. He's stumped me. I shrugged and tried to make out as though it were nothing. I walked over to the couch without a word to him and collapsed on it, trying to close my eyes and sleep peacefully. Tails left the room briefly to check on a pizza he had cooking in the oven, and returned with the intention of pursuing the subject.

"Sonic?" Tails asked, looking at me. I kept my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, hoping that Tails wouldn't prod me in attempt of awakening me. I heard Tails sigh before going to get his pizza, eating it outside and heading to his room for the night. Even in the silence, Tails' question burned in my mind.

_"Do you like her?" _

I don't know. I think I do, but knowing of my almost new experience in this field, I can't be too sure. I rolled over, deciding instead to sleep instead of bothering myself with so many troubled thoughts.

**

* * *

**

A week had passed since I discovered Blaze. She had, as I suspected, healed rather quickly, and seemed to become more and more like her old self. When I suggested we did something for fun, it would take a lot of effort to talk her into it. The activity for today was one it took me a lot of effort deciding over. The problem laid in the fact that Amy and I had gone there about two years ago when she was being chased by a robot. Yes, I'm talking about Twinkle Park. I had picked up a few leaflets to decide on where to take Blaze during the week and I had discovered that the amusement park was doing another 'cute couples get in for free' deal. I don't know if Blaze and I would pass as 'cute' but we might as well try.

Blaze instantly refused. "I don't do theme parks," she had said stubbornly. I pursued the issue, as much as the place made me worry about Amy being there, I did partly want to go very much.

It took me about half an hour. Finally, Blaze's arms slouched at her sides and she shrugged, warning me that if she ended up regretting it, it would be me that suffered a severe burning at her hands. She had threatened this everyday so far, and ended up enjoying each day immensely. I had no worries about today, except for the fact that Twinkle Park had become a sort of hang-out place for Amy, who would also drag a reluctant Shadow along.

Upon arrival, we got in fairly easily, after I received a hundred and one questions asking why I wasn't here with 'that pink hedgehog you came with last time'. Blaze had then begun asking about the events of what had happened when I brought Amy here. After persuading her that nothing serious had happened between me and my friend, the cat dropped the subject and a moody silence followed.

We had a good time. I lost count of how many rides I dragged Blaze onto, however reluctant she might have been. I lost count of how many chilidogs I shoved down my throat, watching my feline friend's jaw drop constantly. She seemed to be enjoying herself. But it didn't stay smooth.

During and after a very fulfilling lunch, Blaze's eyes continuously narrowed and her ears twitched. I blinked, "What's wrong?"

"Something's wrong here…" she muttered darkly.

"Yes my dear," a voice over a loudspeaker spoke causing my fur to stand on end, "Something is very wrong. But I'm about to fix that."

I turned, and my eyes widened at the sight of a tall robot, and settled in the seat, weren't Eggman. It was none other than…

"Eggman-Nega!" Blaze snarled, her eyes narrowed and showing every sign of dislike.

A laugh sounded over the loudspeaker, "Yes indeed. Did you not think that I would not be able to notice you were not around? Did you not think that I would be able to follow you?"

My stomach filled with dread, remembering what Tails had said a week ago. He had warned them that Blaze might have left a trail suitable enough for Nega to follow her. It seemed that this event had been exactly as Tails suspected it.

The shock quickly replaced itself with anger; my temper had flared again, "Get lost, Nega! Can't you see she's having fun for once?"

"Ah yes, I remember you, Sonic the Hedgehog. As arrogant and big-headed as you may be, I'm afraid to say I'm not here to wage in a silly little war with you," Nega muttered. I could almost imagine the dirty smug grin on that madman's face and it didn't do my temper any favours.

"You mess with Blaze; you mess with me," I retorted fiercely, "We're a team."

"No Sonic," I turned to look at Blaze, who looked at me in return, seeming very serious, "I'm touched about what you said, really I am. But this is my battle."

I gawked at her, "Blaze, I thought you understood… you never have to do things alone. I want to help you."

Blaze glared at me, "I thought you'd understand… Nega is my problem. He followed _me _through the warp, not you. I must fix my mistake."

"I don't care," I told her in a frustrated voice "I want to help you. You can argue all you like, but you won't change my mind."

Blaze narrowed her eyes at him quickly, before smiling again in a strained sort of way, "If you insist. On your head be it."

At that, we lunged forward, ready for the battle to begin. Together.

I raised a fist as I tore towards the machine at my usual speed, my teeth bared, ready for action. The part of me that always longed for a dangerous situation was bouncing around in excitement. That part of myself wanted to beat the crap out of Nega, and enjoy myself while doing so. But another part, the heroic part of me that I have had for as long as I can remember, shook in fear for Blaze's safety. She too had her teeth bared and her fists were tightened into mere balls, now showing flames dancing up from them, ready to move.

"You've made a fool of yourself for the last time, Eggman-Nega!" Blaze yelled; her cheeks now a vicious red. The flames on her hands danced higher, and burned brighter, "Now I'm going to destroy you!"

I blinked in confusion, "That's a bit harsh isn't it?"

Blaze looked at me, her jaw almost dropping before a dark look crossed her face, "No. He deserves everything he gets."

"Killing won't make you any better than him!" I tried to reason with her, but she wasn't having any of it. She shook her head in constant denial.

"I knew you wouldn't understand! You never knew of all the things he did that changed my life! You never knew that _he _was the reason I had no friends back at the world I came from! You never knew that _he _was the one who passed the order for my parents to be slaughtered! I'd say that after all the destruction he has caused on my world and my family, he deserves it! If you think otherwise, then follow my earlier advice and _don't get involved!_" She lunged forwards again, ready to strike, the flames dancing ever higher than before.

I was taken aback immensely by what she said. How could I have been so stupid? I stood there, shocked, as Blaze roared out in rage and lunged at Nega again. I just stood there, stunned, my stomach giving an unpleasant guilty lurch. She had never before mentioned her life on her planet, except for that one minor reference at Dead Line. I could sympathise with her somewhat; I had no family either. Not that I could remember…  
**_  
_**"I'll kill you Nega," Blaze snarled, her eyes alight with anger and pain, "I'll make you pay for everything, right here, right now."

"We'll see about that," Nega's eerie voice sounded over the loudspeaker, "Though I personally believe you deserve all the pains you have been given, and many more. Merely killing you… I doubt it would satisfy me."

"And why would that be?" Blaze growled; her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, ready to attack.

"I doubt you remember setting the local village on fire with your unnaturalness when you were a mere child of two. I expected you did the obvious and blamed it on me, hmm? I think I'd better inform you that it was your dirty bidding, not mine. Everyone 'hates' you because you destroyed family members of theirs; not me, you. I merely did something about it, unlike everyone else, too cowardly to face you. I wanted you to suffer, so they could feel free again," Nega cackled. Blaze paused in shock, gazing at her fists.

"I-I killed…?" she stammered. I gazed ahead at Blaze, who looked like she was about to collapse in tears and frustration, "I-I would never… I was only a child…"

"But personally, whether I take your life or not, it doesn't bother me," Nega boasted loudly, "I just want to make you suffer as much pain as possible. And I think I will do so now."

I didn't even hear it coming. When I had broken out of my guilt-wracked thoughts, I saw nothing but a beam coming straight at me, having just fired from Nega's ship. My eyes widened; I wanted to get out of the way, but I couldn't. My legs had somehow either forgotten how to move, or they had glued themselves to the floor. That's when time seemed to slow down in a short matter of seconds.

A purple haze leapt into my vision, and my eyes widened, my heart screaming in terror. The beam never hit me. When time went back to its normal pace, I looked on in horror, and with a sudden jolt, reality had hit me. Blaze lay on the floor, blood soaking the silver concrete, with what looked like a hole carved through half of her stomach, "_BLAZE!_"

I gazed up at Nega's machine, and that hair-raising voice cackled, "As I said before Blaze… I do not care how you suffer as long as you do so. It seemed that I was right in that you _cared _for your arrogant hedgehog cohort here. You were a fool Blaze the Cat, a fool for crossing Eggman-Nega."

Tears stung my vision, she can't be dying! She just can't be! I forced my gaze away from her, my body shaking so badly I might have come down with a dangerous fever, "I'll _kill _you for this Nega!"

"No, dear Sonic," Nega's voice eerily stated, "I've finally fulfilled the goal I had been trying to fulfil ever since my home village burnt down at her hands. My son, my daughter, all lost at _her _hands."

"You sick…" I began, raising his fist, "How could you…?"

"She deserved death, my friend," Nega said firmly, "Death for what she did. They were the only things that kept me near sane… and that little witch stole them away."

"The same could be said for you!" I screamed, tears beginning to stream down my face, "You took _her_ family away! You stole away everything _she _ever cared about!"

"And I do not regret it," laughed Nega. More than anything, I longed for my body to move, not only to attack, but to cause pain, to kill. But something stopped me. Blaze _couldn't _have killed a village full of people… could she?

Nega took advantage of the silence, "But seeing as you're so determined to join your little girlfriend… then so be it!"

I heard the same beaming sound headed towards me. I had already collapsed onto my knees and gazed at the floor with a pained expression. When the first beam and attempted to strike me, I was filled with blind panic and my stomach had writhed painfully. Now there was no feeling there at all.

Once again, the beam never hit. My eyes snapped open and gazed upwards, looking at the skinny physique and black furred form of Shadow the Hedgehog, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He appeared to be using some form of chaos to hold a shield up. A feeling of dread would have normally filled me at this point, but not at this moment in time. Reason being is that Amy seemed to stick to Shadow like a leech to attract my attention. Sure enough, I felt soft hands on my shoulders, trying to pull me to my feet.

"Sonic… you have to move!" Amy Rose's soft voice whispered frantically, "Shadow can only hold him off for so long…"

"No! Blaze is hurt!" I yelled; my mind on nothing else but my friend, "Blaze is hurt! We have to _do _something! And I don't care _what _you say!"

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Amy whispered desperately, "I have my mind on more important things at the moment!"

"Never mind," Nega's spookily polite voice chuckled, "I've gotten my revenge. I have no more time to play games."

"Crap!" I heard Shadow curse, as I could hear Nega fly away in his vehicle. My eyes squeezed themselves shut, then opened again, probably filled with rage, "_GET BACK HERE NEGA!_"

He never did. He was already gone. I collapsed to the floor, and slammed my fist into the ground. Damn it. I knew it would happen. I knew I would one day let my friends down; because of my thoughts, my feelings. I had almost given into the passion that was 'love' and a friend lay at my feet, bleeding to an inevitable death. If I had given in truly, I'm willing to bet all my friends would be dead.

"Sonic…?"

I whipped around, tears still stinging my eyes as I saw Blaze there. She had never looked more the worst for wear. Her stomach was literally visible, a hole blown through her stomach. Her clothes were drenched in her own blood. She looked up at me with a weak smile, "You're okay…"

"I… I'm sorry… I… I let my guard down…" I told her sadly, tears streaming out of my eyes, "If I had just…"

I jumped slightly as her hand rested on mine, "Don't be sorry… I have no regrets…"

Every breath seemed to hurt her. Something stabbed at me from inside. It felt like I had done this to her. It felt like I was the one who caused this pain. And it was all because I didn't move out of the way of Nega's first beam. All because I let me guilt overcome me.

"I… I didn't know I… I never meant to…" Blaze mumbled, her eyes looking anywhere but at me, "I was a baby…"

I rested a hand on her chin, unable to bear this, "I know… I believe you…"

Shadow bent down besides Blaze, and gazed at her stomach with a long hard look, almost as if determining what could be done. When he looked at me and shook his head in a hopeless manner, that's when it hit me. Reality check had once again served it's truly evil purpose. Blaze was going to die. I shook my head, trying to will those five words out of my head. Maybe if I did that, it wouldn't happen. But it was happening; Blaze was going to die.

"Don't cry…" Blaze whispered, smiling slightly, despite all the pain she was suffering, "That's not the Sonic I know…"

I grabbed her hand as it tried to stroke my cheek, and held it close to my chest, planting a small kiss on it. I looked around to see Amy's reaction, and received a shock in that she merely shrugged it off. If anything, she seemed busy gazing at Shadow, almost as if she were out of place in this tragic scene.

"Never forget…" Blaze whispered, "I…"

Blaze looked like she was struggling to breathe; she clutched her chest with a look of contorted pain. I had known that the moment of her death was about to happen then and there in an instant, but refused to believe it.

"Love you…" Blaze finished, her hand going limp in mine. When I looked at Blaze's beautiful young face, I saw that her eyes had closed, all breathing had ceased, and when I checked her wrist, she had no pulse.

She was gone.

**

* * *

**

It was a nice funeral, I know somehow that she would have loved it. It wasn't black, like most funerals, or in any way dark. It was a symbolic purple, much like her own fur colour. Those that didn't know her turned up anyway, to support Sonic more than anything. Cream seemed to cry endlessly, once or twice having to be led away by her mother, until it became too much for her and Tails had to take care of the young doe while Vanilla went to the bathroom accompanied by Vector the Crocodile, who was her shoulder to cry on. Tails had simply put his arm around Cream's shoulder and let her cry all over him.

Amy sat with Shadow, crying a little herself; Shadow let her sob on him with a constant look of annoyance at having his chest fur soaked with salty tears. In the end he patted Amy on the shoulder and led her away for a drink to calm her.

Knuckles settled with Rouge in the corner of the room, the bat-girl looking vaguely bored. Knuckles had his arms folded in her company, looking sulky but passed her occasional sneaky glances, especially at her chest area. I knew that would eventually resolve in a slap.

The speech was nice. I was allowed to give it, seeing as I knew Blaze better than anybody, except maybe Cream but she was too young. I wanted to break down and cry. I nearly did. But I kept strong. Blaze told me not to cry. I would keep that promise and take it to the grave.

I told everyone about how brave she was. I told everyone how kind, caring and gentle she was beneath the stubborn, shy lone wolf barriers she put up as a front to stop others from hurting her. I told everyone how good a friend she was to me, how she would laugh at my corny jokes and argue with me about the silliest of things. I told them everything, except for the stuff about how I had considered being more than friends with her. That was private.

The funeral ended a while later. Heading back to Tails' place for some food, I noticed Amy trying to get Shadow to carry her in bridal style and he was arguing with a hint of impatience. I'll bet he likes the idea of carrying her like a bride though. My mind was too damp to think about it.

Tails said he was sorry to me for my loss in an emotionless tone.

Cream burst into endless tears and asked why she had to go out the way she did.

Vanilla and Vector offered me my condolences, before the crocodile rushed out to return to his beloved Chaotix Detective Agency, where Espio was watching Charmy (I was thankful they didn't bring the bee child to the funeral).

Knuckles told me everything would turn out alright. Rouge had walked out without speaking to the echidna. Probably another row… I don't really care.

Shadow even walked over and we toasted Blaze.

Amy eventually walked over, a drink in hand. She slumped down next to me on the couch and took a large sip of orange juice.

"I know what you're thinking," I told her shortly, "And the answer's no, I don't want to go out with you."

"I wasn't going to ask that," Amy frowned at me, "I was going to ask if you… never mind, it's none of my business."

"No, I want to know," I said, clearly not in the mood, but looking to spring my pain on someone, to lose control, "What were you going to ask."

"I'm not being jealous before you assume I am," Amy said in an offhand voice, "But I was wondering what was going on between you and Blaze."

Not jealous? It sounded jealous to me, "None of your business," I snapped.

"Look here, Sonic. Just because you lost Blaze doesn't mean you have the right to take it out on me," Amy said darkly, "You know perfectly well Shadow and I are going out and-"

"Nice little cover-up that is," I told her fiercely, "You're only going out with him to try and make me jealous. He's only going along with it because he likes to see me suffer."

Amy looked at me and shrugged, "It was like that at first. I thought that if you saw me with someone, you'd flip out and I'd find out the truth at last. A truth I thought existed. I don't know if it exists now, and I don't care. Things have changed for me and Shadow."

I raised an eyebrow and inquired, "How so?"

"We did things," Amy said, "Went on dates, spoke to each other. We did things you would never even _think _of doing with me. We connected. I'm not chasing you anymore. I have a new goal now."

I tried to smile, "What's that?"

Amy smiled weakly and stroked my hand, "To get the guy to at least crack a smile. And who knows? Maybe we might become something more than friends."

She looked at me with a sympathetic expression, "Sonic, don't worry. Blaze hasn't truly left you behind. She's alive in you as long as you remember and cherish her."

The rest of the evening went along without many complications. When everyone left and Tails went to bed, I lay there in the guestroom, glad to be alone. I recalled Blaze sleeping here in this same bed. I stroked the pillow, trying to smell her, trying to search for some trace of her. It was very faint, but it soothed me. Maybe Amy was right. Maybe Blaze would always be with me if I let her like when she let me fight with her. I smiled weakly, moisture building up behind my eyes.

"Good night Blaze."

**

* * *

**

Nearly seven years had passed and it shocked everyone to see how much we'd all changed. I myself had grown a few inches more, my quills draped down my back at an even greater length, my eyes had grown darker, or so Knuckles says. I'm not really sure if I believe him.

I never thought I'd see the day when Tails got a girlfriend at long last. Cream visited him on a daily basis, now fourteen years of age and had developed a liking for cream cakes as well as getting messy fixing up the Tornado along with her two-tailed boyfriend. I wasn't allowed to make a comment about their relationship; Tails would always brandish his wrench when I did and give me threatening looks, though I knew deep down he was teasing.

Knuckles ended up allowing Rouge to move in with him on Angel Island and needless to say, I was gob-smacked when I found out about this. Rouge was a thief, and I was sure that Knuckles would have worked out that she might have pretended to like him to get the Master Emerald easier. But she didn't; Rouge appeared to have been genuine about it. She had meant it.

The biggest shock of all was when Shadow and Amy announced their engagement about a year ago. Their wedding day had passed today with flying colours.

It was nothing like the dull, mourning air of Blaze's funeral. The wedding seemed full of life and bright. Or it might have been Amy continuously laughing at Shadow, who didn't seem to understand the concept of weddings completely, but knew enough to know it was something for loved ones.

But when they got up that altar and swore to each other that they would love each other forever, before sharing a deep kiss, it hit me again. I had hoped that it would be me, gazing into Blaze's eyes, swearing myself to her forever and ever. But her death a few years back had changed everything. In all the time since it had happened, I had realized horribly that I had never once told her I loved her back. Not once.

As soon as the wedding ended, I knew what I had to do. I made up a garbled excuse to escape the reception, and streaked off. I think Amy knew what I was up to, not that I truly cared.

Soon enough, I skidded to a halt and smiled down weakly upon Blaze the Cat's gravestone.

"Hey there, Blaze."

I kneeled down beside the gravestone and picked a rose nearby, sniffing it and resting it in front of the grave. I leant a little closer and read it.

_In honour of Blaze the Cat  
Died 12-04-06  
A friend, and a lover_

Wait a minute, where did the 'lover' part come from? Could she have been seeing someone other than me?

Then I realized; it was me it was referring to. I grumbled a little. Amy must have said something on the day we got her a new stone. Yet part of me couldn't help feeling a little grateful to her.

I took a deep breath, knowing that this had to be said, "I know I should have said this seven years ago, the moment you told me you loved me. Before you died, but I was scared. More so of love than of anything else. And it hurt me, ya know? But I'm going to say it now."

I took a deep shuddering breath, "I love ya Blaze. Dead or not, that hasn't changed. I hope you still love me too because I'll never stop loving ya."

I lay there, waiting for a reaction. Even though she was dead, it felt like she was there. Alive in me, like Amy had said after her funeral. Somehow, at that moment, I knew she had heard me. And I knew she still loved me.

"Thanks Blaze… listen I gotta get back to Shadow and Amy's wedding reception, but I'll come see ya again real soon, okay?" I asked. Once again, I knew she had agreed.

"I'll see ya when I see ya Blaze…"

I sped off amongst the horizon, a fiery spirit never leaving my side and a whole weight off my mind.

I'm free. We both are.

**

* * *

**

_This is an old Sonic/Blaze story I did; it was originally a songfic but I took all of the song lyrics out since I don't want to get into trouble for having one. I wrote it when I despised the Sonic/Blaze pairing, though nowadays I am a fan of it._


	6. ShadowxCream: Ages Away

Disclaimer: Shadow, Cream and all characters used in this fic belong to SEGA.

**Ages Away**

A stormy dark night, the streets desolate, cold and barren. Nothing shifted from sight, all were tucked into the warmth of their beds, snuggling their pillows without a worry. All but one.

She ran down the streets, not caring what noise she made or who she may disturb. All she knew was that she had to get away from them, from all of them.

Tears stung her eyes as her legs strained to keep running, the rain pouring down her face, along with her tears. Why could nobody understand him? Why couldn't they accept it?

Before she had met him, she had been the mere little defenceless girl of the team, unable to fight, unable to protect her friends, in their eyes at any rate. But with him, it was so different. He made her feel stronger, special, yet protected and loved. And nobody could understand nor accept it.

The girl wiped away her tears with her arm, still running along the soaked path, and the memories of the day running through her mind. Them, begging her to see it their way, trying to make him look like a monster, trying to make it look like she was a victim. The girl tried to force the day's events out of her mind, but she couldn't, and their voices still haunted her.

**

* * *

**

_She sat there on the beach, a faint smile on her lips as she escaped into fantasy about the one she loved. She remembered the beautiful locket he had bought for her, and allowed her fingers to stray. Opening the locket, she smiled at the picture of the two of them together, hugging each other, smiling. She loved his smile, whether his teeth were showing and gleaming or not._

_She was going to see him tonight. Romantic dinner for two. She couldn't believe that out of everyone, he had chosen her, and loved her for who she was. And she couldn't believe that after all of these months, he still loved her and only her._

_She was snapped from her thoughts and daydreams by a young two-tailed fox, voicing out to her. She gazed up at him, staring at him with a worried expression on her face. The way he was looking at her was very different indeed, but she had learned to recognize that look. The look of worry and wondering if she was making the right decision, one that did annoy the girl every now and then, today more so than ever._

"_Where did you get those bruises from?" he asked her. The girl shuffled embarrassed to tell her clumsy fall down the stairs. But almost instantly, she knew what was running through his mind. He thought that _he _did it. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she glared at the fox boy.  
__  
"I fell down the stairs!" she raised her voice to him, "He did nothing!"_

_She stormed out of her friend's work shop, her nose in the air, trying her hardest not to cry._

**

* * *

**

"Stop thinking about that!" The girl almost screamed, tearing along down the wet roads, hoping and praying that none of them were following her. She just had to get away from them. She couldn't take the torture anymore. And she didn't need to hear anymore crap from them.

**

* * *

**

_Sitting in a nearby restaurant on her own, the young teenage girl slowly bit into her chocolate spread sandwich, her eyes scanning the streets for any signs of her fox friend. None, which made her sigh with relief that he hadn't persisted in making her boyfriend look like the bad guy. Taking another bite into her sandwich, her hands caressed the locket her boyfriend had given her, and the young girl allowed her heart to relax in thoughts of him._

"_Hey, can I join ya?"_

_The teenager turned to see that a blue hedgehog with green eyes was the speaker, directly talking to her. She shrugged, allowing him to sit down opposite her, and order a chilidog for himself. She could only watch him warily, as he scoffed the chilidog with ease. Finishing with a loud swallow, he gave the girl fleeting thumbs up. The girl felt somewhat wary, considering he kept casting strange looks at her._

"_So how's it going?" he asked. The teenager could tell that he was trying to verge around discussing _him_. Why not though? _

_"Fine," she answered stiffly, folding her arms in her chair and refusing to meet the blue hedgehog's gaze._

"_Listen… are you sure you're okay? I mean, you haven't been having any trouble…?" he asked. He's hinting that her boyfriend's been hurting her. Rage travels through her blood and her once relaxed heart pounded with a vengeance._

"_No!" she stands up, almost creating a scene, "He'd never hurt me! Everything's fine, because he loves me and I love him! See ya later!"_

_She stormed off, leaving the tall blue hedgehog sitting there, a dazed look on his face._

**

* * *

**

Tears streamed down the girl's face, but she wasn't bothered to wipe them away. Her heart pounded and her legs ached for rest but she kept on, through the pounding winds and rain.

**

* * *

****  
**_Whenever she needed somewhere to go, she could always go to her best friend. She had told her so a long time ago, when she was upset and wept into her arms, crying about something silly. But that was back when she was thirteen._

_Her trembling hand knocked the door of her best friend's apartment, and she fought back tears. Would everything be the same between them? For all she knew, her best friend's view about her boyfriend might be the same as all her other supposed-to-be friends._

_The door opened, revealing a pink hedgehog with jade green eyes, staring at her friend intently. She looked a little shocked to see her there. The teenage girl took in a deep breath, "May I come in?"_

_The pink hedgehog's skin beneath her fur went pale, and she slowly nodded, pushing the door open enough so the teenager could walk in._

_Settled on the couch, the girl drank her tea with her hedgehog friend, but no words were passed between them. The teenager felt awkward at the silence, and glad that her friend's fiancé wasn't home. She didn't need another encounter with him, not now._

"_So… did your boyfriend get you that?" the pink hedgehog made a brave stab at conversation. The teenage girl gazed down at her locket, a brief smile coming to her lips as she thought of him again. Remembering him sometimes helped her through the bad times. The teenager nodded, allowing her best friend to lean forward slightly._

_"So does he really love you?" she asked a slight edge to her voice the teenager hadn't heard before. She nodded again, a slight frown on her face. The pink hedgehog sighed._

_"I don't know what to say. Are you sure about… you know… him?"_

_The teenager felt rage gripping her chest again. Not her best friend too! "Yes, I am, and he's sure about me too,"_

"_But… he's so much older than you and…"_

"_Sonic's older than you," the girl stubbornly proclaimed._

"_By three years, which is not much when you think about it," her friend replied, trying her best not to fly off the handle, "But you and… him… God knows how much older he is, and considering all the things he's done…"_

"_Not you too! Why can't everyone just leave me alone! I thought you were my friend Amy!" the girl screamed, unable to take anymore of this crap and stormed out of her best friend's apartment._

**

* * *

**

She ran and ran, the rain hitting her face like pebbles, which made the girl want to stop and sob like a little child, defenceless and in search of its mother. Her own best friend didn't trust her judgement in the matter, which dug a deep knife in her chest and twisted it. But the worst happened only merely a few hours before.

**

* * *

**

_She lay on her bed, in her room, sulking. Her three nearest and dearest friends couldn't even trust her judgement. They couldn't see the love that she shared with her special boyfriend, and see the impact he's had on her life. The girl buried her face into the pillow, wanting to sob heavily and hard. _

"_Dear, could you come down here for a minute?" her mother called. The girl sighed, forced herself off of the bed, and slumped downstairs, taking one step at a time._

_Her mother awaited in the living room with her stepfather. Her mother was fairly beautiful in her old age, still managing that same old charm that she had maintained when she was a child. Her stepfather, on the other hand, looked quite intimidating, yet again, it was usual, considering he was a crocodile._

"_Your boyfriend called," her mother said stiffly, "He asked if you were still going out with him tonight."_

"_Yes…?" the teenager asked, longing to know what her mother was trying to say. She had a feeling it wasn't going to be good._

"_And I told him you weren't," she finished. She could feel rage squeezing her heart again, wanting to scream, and she began to fulfil her want as she raised her voice dangerously._

"_How could you?" she dangerously said, "We had dinner planned, it was going to be perfect."_

"_Dear, you know how I feel about that boy; I don't think he's your type. He's far too old for you and-"_

"_SO WHAT!" she screamed, slowly beginning to cry, "He may be a man, and I may be a teenager! WE STILL LOVE EACH OTHER!" _

"_Listen to reason, kid, your mother knows what she's talking about," her stepfather said in a firm voice._

"_And who asked you? You're not my dad!" the girl cried loudly._

"_I'm as good as!" he yelled, "And if your mother thinks that he and you should no longer see each other, then I agree! So you're going to end it, you hear me!"_

"_Vector…" her mother gasped, shocked at her husband's sudden behaviour._

"_No! I won't! We love each other! I don't care what anyone else says!" the girl screamed back._

"_You'll end it with him or you'll cease to live under this roof!" he yelled back. The teenager had never seen her stepfather so aggressive with her before. It frightened her, but she tried not to let it show._

"_Fine!" she yelled, turning on her heel, storming up the stairs, slamming the door shut and locking it, hearing her mother's muffled voice through the door, begging her to see it her way, begging her not to let her stepfather's words take true effect._

_She ignored her parent, tossing whatever valuables she had into a bag, throwing it over her shoulder and storming past her mother, trying not to look her in the eyes as she tried to grab her daughter's shoulders and shake some sense into her._

_The teenager ignored her, and ignored him when she got down the stairs, throwing her bag open. She could hear her mother crying for her not to go, but she ignored her. She ignored the words her stepfather shouted, though it registered in her mind somewhere._

"_One day he'll hurt you Cream! It's only a question of how he does it!"_

_She wiped away her tears, and stormed off into the night, running away as far as she could._

**

* * *

**

Cream the Rabbit ran and ran, wishing more than ever she could collapse onto the ground, but not wanting to turn back or be found by any of her so-called friends, she kept going, feeling a stitch in her chest, but she ignored the pain and kept running. She was almost there. Almost at one place she could go one place where she would be cared for.

She could see the small section of houses in the distance. Though it was in a dark, filthy street, the rabbit had always loved going there to see him. This time she needed him.

Making her way up to the door of number 9, she shakily knocked and waited, tears streaming down her face as she waited for the answer from her one and only boyfriend.

The door opened and Cream gazed at him, standing there, looking at her in concern. Before he could say anything, she threw her arms around him and sobbed heavily.

"Cream?" he asked, quite shocked at his girlfriend's behaviour, "Cream, what's wrong?"

"I-I've been kicked out…" she sobbed into the black fur, "I-I needed somewhere to go…"

He could only hug her, feel her warmth against his black fur, her hands slowly running through his red and black quills. His ruby eyes watched her as he rested his chin on her head, feeling Cream nestle the white patch of fur on his chest.

"Come in then, Cream," he nervously said.

"Thank you, Shadow," she responded, draping her arm around his and following him inside.

**

* * *

**

Tea and sympathy. She needed those things from Shadow more than anything at that moment in time. She told him the whole story, going back to Tails' comment on her bruised leg, which Shadow also took concern at. Sonic's statement at the café, and Amy's own harsh opinion of him.

Shadow was never one for letting other's opinions of him get in his way of loving Cream, but it clearly bothered his young girlfriend to no ends.

"And then… h-he told me to… break up with y-you or I have t-to leave…" Cream finished her story, still sobbing heavily, still needing her boyfriend's shoulder to cry on.

He could only hug in that moment in time. He couldn't think of anything to say. Something came to mind. It sounded silly and harsh, but he couldn't bear the silence and he knew, neither could she.

"At least we're still together," he whispered, planting a kiss on the sixteen year old doe's forehead.

"Yeah… I guess so…" Cream said, smiling as she rested against his chest, before slowly allowing her head to glide to his, her hands moving through his quills as she kissed him. Breaking off from the short kiss, they gazed into each other's eyes.

_'One day,' _Cream vowed,_ 'One day they'll all see how much we love each other…'_

In the meantime though, she was very content with just lying there in Shadow's arms until that time came.

She didn't have to cry when he was around.

* * *

_Another old one-shot I did, this time of the Shadow/Cream pairing. I don't mind the pairing; I don't think it's that bad if it's set in an AU where Cream's older._

I admit that this one-shot is not one I'm proud of, because I do feel it is slightly out of character for both of them, especially for Shadow. I included it though because other people liked it. 


	7. SilverxBlaze: Love and Friendship

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. Silver and Blaze belong to SEGA.

**Love and Friendship**

Feelings.

They are a curse. I have no time for feelings. At least not of _that _certain kind.

You know what I mean; the kind of feeling where you just want _more_ instead of being grateful for what you already have. It's that kind of feeling where you find yourself hopelessly wishing for things to change, despite the fact that for several years you've been happy about how things were.

I ask myself what the point is.

Maybe I'm just used to not showing people around me how I feel. For me, it is the most difficult thing in the world to even wrap my arms around a friend to hug them goodbye. It's hard to even stretch my hand out to perform a simple handshake.

I suppose it ultimately all comes down to trust. I've never been one to trust people, especially after the bullying and isolation I had experienced purely because I was different. I create flames and had created many accidents in an attempt to control my powers when I was younger. It was enough reason for the other children to ostracize me and humiliate me, causing me to become ashamed of whom I was.

Blaze the Cat; a freak of nature. One that should not have been brought into the world. Needless to say, it even made me wonder if life was worth it, especially if all I would get were insults and beatings from people of my own age, and in some cases, of my own species.

Then I met _him_.

The bullies had surrounded me again in the field, all carrying sticks and swearing that they were going to hurt me so badly that I would never show my face again. I had cried and cried, pleading with them to realize that I had done absolutely nothing to them.

Then _he_ came, running over, yelling fiercely at the bullies, demanding them to leave me be. They approached him with the sticks with the intention to hurt, and somehow he had fought them off in ways I had never seen before. The bullies had fled the scene, claiming that they were going to get me and my 'little boyfriend'.

He sat down next to me after that, asking me if I was alright, checking me over carefully. There was only one thing I could focus on.

His eyes.

They were like sunshine, crashing through the darkness I had experienced, and the walls I had spent so much time putting up around me to protect myself from hurt.

"My name's Silver," he had said in a soft, yet shy-sounding voice. I could only smile at him in return timidly; something within me would usually prevent me from interacting with other children, but something about him was soothing enough to earn my trust.

I told him my name.

We have been best friends ever since.

But back to what I was saying before, about feelings. I hate them. I hate them so much for reducing me to this. I've never truly been the needy sort, or at least I refuse to let myself think that I could be. I take what I am given and am thankful each and every time for what I have.

I had never wanted more until now.

"Blaze? Are you alright?"

He's looking at me now with softening, concerned eyes, gazing at me with such intensity that it takes a lot of effort to not get blown away. He had somehow managed to do something to me in the time that I had known him.

He made me want more.

I nod in reply to his question, running a hand through the feather ponytail on the top of my head, leaning backwards slightly on the sofa. Silver smiles at me gently before he turns his attentions back towards the television, completely intrigued with the cartoon characters.

Something inside of me wants me to move closer to him.

I want to embrace him.

I want to be with him.

The realization comes incredibly quickly after those thoughts pass through my mind; they are not thoughts that have ever occurred to me before, not about Silver, nor about any other male. I was always to shy to even think about the opposite sex, and the fact that I was consistently bullied as a child almost shattered my ability to trust anybody, especially not males.

Yet now my mind is telling me that things have changed between Silver and I.

I appreciate the friendship I am given, but I want more. I desire to be more than just a friend.

I trust Silver.

I care about him more than words could ever describe. I'm not sure if it matches up to that feeling I speak of, but I'm certain it does.

I bite my lip; I could easily lean over, wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his chest. I could easily tell him all about the thoughts buzzing around instead of my head.

No, that's wrong. It's not easy at all. It's the hardest thing in the world to tell someone you like them, especially when it's your best friend.

Besides, there's always the possibility that Silver does not care for me like I do him. He would not want to know, he would want peace of mind.

Plus I do not wish to lose my only friend.

Maybe, if I wait long enough, it will all go away. I don't really want it to, despite my hatred of these feelings, but I want what's best for him, and if it means him retaining his peace of mind, then I'll be happy; he's got enough to worry about without me adding to the workload.

If he does feel the same… then we'll find out somewhere along the way.

Either way, he comes first.

* * *

_Okay, so this is actually based off of feelings that I have had up until recently. Blaze is the one Sonic character I feel I have a lot in common with, so I chose her and Silver, since they're good friends. There seems to be a lingering fear of losing another's friendship because you feel more for them. I've felt it, and in a situation like this where Blaze feels that way for Silver, I could see her fearing it too._

_I don't mind the couple, but it's not one of my favourites. I personally prefer Silver/Amy and Sonic/Blaze (but more than those two, Amy/Blaze), but this couple was a nice one to tackle, even if I probably could have done better, I wanted it to kept simple partially because it was in first-person._


End file.
